Reza Aslan Feels ‘Kind of Bad’ for His Fox News Interrogator

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Those of you who were out having a life this weekend may have missed one of the best/worst Fox News interviews of all time, in which the network’s “religion corespondent” Lauren Green seemed baffled that a Muslim person would have the desire or ability to write a book about Jesus Christ. The Muslim person in question is Reza Aslan, who — as he repeatedly pointed out throughout the duration of the ten-minute interview — is a religious expert with advanced degrees in religious studies. It’s crazy, but sometimes scholars write about people who aren’t exactly like them! (Ironically, Green, a Christian, has herself written extensively on Islam.)

This afternoon, Aslan answered some questions about the Friday night interview in a Reddit AMA. Asked how he managed to remain so calm while being badgered about his objectiveness and credibility, Aslan replied, “When you are a brown Muslim man from Iran talking about Jesus you must always remain calm:).”

Aslan confirmed that while Green’s line of questioning was not a surprise to him, her persistence came as a shock. “I had some indication of what was about to happen from the attack piece they did on me a few days before the interview,” he said, referring to this FoxNews.com post. “I assumed that we would deal with that at first and then move on to the book. It was only about half way thru that realized what washappening.”

Despite the backlash against Green, Aslan says he never heard from her after the interview. “I’ve never spoken to her before or since,” he said. “Frankly, I feel kind of bad forher.”